Competitors began arriving about six. Bob showed up a 6:30 P.M. with a sheepish grin. He said that he had a senior moment and forgot his slot car box at home. Although some offered up their rides as substitutes, Bob declined, jumped back in his car and made the round trip back to Electron Raceway in a record breaking 35 minutes. Upon his return, he was offered as much time as necessary for practice. As it turned out, the race started only ten minutes after the appointed time.
As a prelude to the race an in an attempt to handicap the contest, I wrote a piece and posted it on Slotblog.net. See the link if you are interested in a deep data dive.http://slotblog.net/topic/71757-lies-damnable-lies-and-statistics/#entry652928
Highlights
- In the Trans-Am race, five of seven drivers were in the hunt for a podium finish. In the end, Rich edged out James for the top step of the podium, while Ron put in a fine performance to finish third.
- In the Sports Car race it was the same story. Five of seven drivers were in the hunt for a podium finish. In the end it was James, Jack and Rich for first through third respectively.
- In the GT1 race, Rich finished first, driving his Camel Porsche 962 to a record setting 95.0 laps. James was second and Jack was third.
As predicted, the Trans-Am competition was fierce. Racers brought some of their most competitive rides.
· Rich decided to run his 70 Chaparral Camaro shod with new rubber. These true scale cars look awesome! I love the scale wheels and inserts. The Camaro made its debut in August of 2016 and won both Trans-Am events entered prior to the latest contest.
· James ran his Barracuda which made its debut in December of 2015 and won that race. The car is very competitive and has challenged for the top spot in nearly every Tran-Am event. The Barracuda finished on the podium in all but one contest in its seven outings.
· Ron ran one of his most competitive rides, a green 67 Mustang, achieving a second podium finish in 2016 in the 10/12/16 race. It is interesting that a simple body swap makes such a difference in performance. In practice Ron ran a Mustang GT500 on this chassis. The car looked awesome and is shown below. The car turned no better than 5.4 second laps. Just for grins, Ron swapped to a 67 Mustang fastback. Lap times dropped almost .2 seconds.
· Bob ran his lime green Dodge Challenger. The car made its debut in February 2016 and has raced in a total of four contests winning the race held on 5/12/16. After the last race, Bob noticed that one of the front wheels was rubbing on the fender well and has yet to address this problem. When he does, watch out guys.
· Jack ran his orange Challenger (a competitive ride but not his best). Jacks very competitive silver Mustang stayed home as did his lime green Firebird. The Mustang was successfully campaigned in 2015 finishing first three times and on the podium in each of its eight outings since. The Firebird, won in its only outing on 8/13/15.
· Bob Iles ran an OSCAR spec. Barracuda. He did quite well considering it was his first visit to Electron Raceway.
· Scott recently purchased a Scholer chassis and two bodies from Ron. The blue Mustang body was used in the Trans-Am race. Scott is improving week to week. Great job!!
Five of the seven drivers were in the hunt for a podium finish in the Trans-Am race. However, from the outset, it seemed like Rich and James would be fighting it out for the top spot.
In heat number one, Rich turned nearly 23 laps on yellow while James was about a half lap behind running on red. The race was a see-saw battle throughout the first three heats at which time both competitiors had turned 66+ laps. Rich rotated out in heat number four. James had a fine heat number four completing 23 laps to finish with 89.2 laps. Rich came in on his favorite lane, red, in the final heat needing a 23+ lap count to overtake James. In the end, Rich finished in the top spot with 89.4 laps, edging out James by only two sections (a hat trick for the Camaro, three consecutive outings and three wins).
Meanwhile, the battle for the bottom step of the podium was between Ron, Bob and Jack. While Jacks Challenger was the quickest of the three, he had a sub par perfomance in heat number one, completing only 20+ laps on black. Ron ran into some bad luck in his first heat. He had his brake pot set way off and as a result turned only 19 laps in his first heat. After correcting the problem, Ron ran a few stellar heats. Bob, on the other hand, ran a very consistent race turning 21+ laps on each lane finishing his rotation in heat number six. Entering the final heat (number seven), Bob was in the barn with 85.7 laps. Jack had completed 64+ laps through the sixth heat and was well within striking distance of Bob. Ron had completed 62+ laps through the sixth heat and would have a hard time overtaking Bob. What an exciting final heat; Ron ran a great final heat on black of 23 laps to finish with 85.8 laps, only one section ahead of Bob. Jack managed only 21+ laps to finish with 85.3 laps. So, it was Ron, Bob and Jack for third through fifth respectively.
Kudos to Ron on his podium finish. Ron achieved a personal best in terms of total laps and ran only .001 slower than his personal best in terms of a fast lap time. Also, if it not for the brake pot issue on the red lane in the first heat, he would have been in the hunt for the top step of the podium.
Below are details of the finishing order and an image of the grid.
Mixer
Although this race was billed as a mixer, each and every competitor selected a sports car.
Again, competitors brought their A game.
· James ran his copper Ferrari 458. In five outings in 2016, his Ferrari finished first three times and second twice.
· Jack decided to run his Ferrari F50. It is a competitive ride but certainly not his best.
· Rich ran his red Ferrari 458. In six outings in 2016 the car has finished first twice, second and third twice. The Ferrari holds both ends of the record.
· Bob ran his beige Ferrari 458. In five outings in 2016, Bob finished on the podium four times scoring two second place and two third place finishes.
· Ron selected his black Ferrari 458. His yellow Ferrari 458 might be a bit better but it is hard to tell.
· Bob Iles ran an OSCAR spec. Ferrari Modena Spyder. The car was fast and, in my opinion would have been competitive if Bob had more track time at Electron Raceway
· Scott ran his recently acquired Ferrari F430. A great looking ride built by Ron.
Again, the five top competitors all had a chance at a podium finish and the race was decided on performances in the final heat. Rich completed his rotation in the next to the last heat (heat number 6) with 89.0 laps. Richs Ferrari 458 is capable of a higher lap total; however, a mishap in his second heat tweaked the motor causing excessive friction and impacting drivability. This put Rich out of contention for the top spot. Going into the final heat, James was at 69+ laps and Jack was at 66+. James needed less than 20 laps to overtake Rich (an easy task). Jack, on the other hand needed a 23+ lap heat to beat Rich. In the end, James finished with 91.3 laps to win the race. Jack ran a great final heat to edge out Rich for second place by about six inches. Rich finished third.
Below are details of the finishing order and an image of the grid.
GT1
· Rich ran his favorite car, a Porsche 962 in Camel colors. New rubber was installed prior to the latest contest. The car has challenged James for the top spot in nearly every race and finished first twice and second three times in its five outings in 2016.
· James ran his Jaguar XJR8LM. The car has dominated the field in 2016 finishing first in 5 of seven contests and never failing to finish on the podium in 2016. It also holds the fast lap record in GT1.
· Jack selected his Nissan R390, arguably his best GT1 ride (although his blue Enzo is a tough ride to beat as well). The Nissan was run only one time at Electron prior to the race on 10/12/16 and finished in fourth position but I always thought this car had great potential.
· Bob ran his yellow Enzo. He drove the Enzo to four third place finishes in 2016. However, if you look back at 2015, he won the GT1 race held on 6/4 and 9/21. In addition he finished second several times in 2015
· Ron ran a BRM bodied Porsche 962 on an existing H-bracket chassis. The car looked awesome (except for the unmatched red front wheel inserts). He selected this ride in favor of his silver Enzo because the 962 ran about .2 seconds per lap faster in practice.
· Bob Iles ran an OSCAR spec. Porsche 959. The car turned some very quick laps and would have done better with more track time.
· Scott ran a red Enzo. The chassis was built by Jack and is a competitive ride. Scott is relatively new to our group and has steadily improved from week to week.
From the outset, it looked like Richs 962 was the car to beat turning nearly 24 laps in the first heat besting Jack by more than a half of a lap and Bob by more than a lap. Rich ran a clean race and finished with 95.0 laps (a new record in True Scale GT1) for the win. James and Jack battled it out for second place. In the end, James prevailed finishing with 93.5 laps nearly two laps ahead of third place Jack.
Bob and Ron fought it out for fourth position. Bob prevailed, besting Ron by less than half of a lap.
Below are details of the finishing order and an image of the grid.
